What You Hold Dearest
by Wicked R
Summary: Darla’s heart condition was cured and she is now one of the gang. The Hyperion is under serious siege from a considerable amount of vampires, led by Ari-Pekka, a Finn Darla sired after she lost Angelus to Angel. The only thing she has to do to save the


Title: What You Hold Dearest  
Author: Wicked R  
Disclaimers: most characters belong to Mutant Enemy.  
Genre: Romance/Angst/Horror, h/c  
Rating: 15  
Set: you know the speech Darla gives Angel about caring for her, ep. "The trial", season 2 AtS. Now, my universe starts there.  
Summary: Darla's heart condition was cured and she is now one of the gang. The Hyperion is under serious siege from a considerable amount of vampires, led by Ari-Pekka, a Finn Darla sired after she lost Angelus to Angel. The only thing she has to do to save the gang is to act like Ari-Pekka's Sire and he will comply. Only that she needs to be a vampire to do that.  
Pairing: A/D sorta, A/B sorta.  
Warning: not beta read. English is not my first language, so be kind.

Buffy was in LA much more often than Angel ever imagined. It was a great hiding place for all creatures and Buffy couldn't just let them roam free just because she couldn't finish them off in Sunnydale. So far, she managed to steer free from Angel. Well, mostly, and she, individually taken, would have had no intensions to change that. As it happened, a lot of vampires she met lately had some connections to LA. There was a big gathering to take place there very soon. Giles prompted her to pay a visit to those who might have greater insight into what was going on in the City.

Stepping out of the car, she found herself mesmerized by the glimmer of sunshine sparks on the windows of the Hyperion. Angel's hotel and sunshine. Besides, she started to feel like a vampire herself, always operating on night mode. The brightness was far more attractive than the thought of irritating night creepers threatening to consume her town, so she sat back and gazed into the bright azure colours of the windows and envied each individual atom. Feeling a bitter anger boiling inside her chest because she couldn't enjoy the sun regularly, she finally snapped out of her vengeful reverie and headed off doing what she had to do. She entered from the side and the first person she saw was Cordelia hanging out some clothes to dry on the sun in the garden. Tonnes of colourful tops and dark shirts. Angel's shirts, she realised. The sun would warm them up and it would be a nice feeling to put them on, as if he would be able to experience body heat for a few minutes. She was just about to step out behind a tree, according to the schedule of her surprise visit. She didn't expect to be the one flabbergasted.

"I'll put those out, thanks, Cordy," offered a female voice and a tall blonde woman in a burgundy summer dress took the basket from Cordelia."Be my guest," gave in willingly Cordelia.The woman stepped under the ropes in the sun and Buffy could see her face now. She was familiar. Very familiar. A woman she would recognise out of a million. Angel's ex always had a sort of allure to her. It was the woman she most felt jealousy towards, justified or not. The resemblance was striking. Given her own recent adventure with death, there was only one conclusion she could draw. She sidestepped the women and went inside the building.Emerging from the office where he had gone looking for his coat, Angel was startled to see the Slayer, "Buffy," he finally said, "this is a surprise." He opened his arms and she leaned into them fleetingly. As she drew away, he said, "so what brings you on this surprise visit?" With the past between them, it was better to get it over with the greetings as quickly as it was possible."Right," Buffy stated. "Sorry about not ringing you up ahead and coming unexpected, but it couldn't be helped.""Is there some kind of trouble, Buffy?" Angel asked."Yes, there is," Buffy answered with some tension, "first, is that Darla?"Nod."How?""Wolfram and Hart. It was a plan to turn me evil again.""They wanted her to have… you know…have…""That, and various other scenarios. She is human now," he said, as if off handish, "and she accepted her humanity. She is one of us now," he went on, trying to convince Buffy, as he needed to convince the others previously.Buffy shrugged, "if you say so," she said harshly. She would trust him that much. It was always the other members of the Scoobies that needed convincing in such matters. She was human, fine; she was there with Angel, not fine."There's nothing between us," mirrored her thoughts Angel."Other than the most lengthy and intimate bond I can ever imagine.""I care about her. I care about how she could save her soul. That's why she is here. So I can keep an eye on her. But I don't think that I will ever be able to forgive her for turning me. For making me that horrifying fiend. I forgave you for sending me to hell. Big difference there." It was the truth, but he said it to make sure Buffy doesn't take anything the wrong way. His heart still belonged to her.Buffy was ready to change the subject. She didn't want to think about it more than she had to. Besides, she could see Angel looking away uncomfortably as well. "So, did you notice anything unusual lately in Los Angeles? I mean really unusual.""Nothing that I can think of. Why?""Well, several of my slayed vamps had told me they were the minions of some master called Ari-Pekka. And he is in LA, all who escape me come here. I mean how many did this guy sire? All I know that there is supposed to be some gathering or…""Ari-Pekka you said?""You know him?""He is Darla's.""I thought she was very monogamist that way. Just the one, as a life partner?""This was after Angelus…I…left.""So maybe she can…ee… heelp."

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All strings were pulled. Only a few minutes spent at the Caritas and the plan was clear. Lorne directed Angel towards another lanky and muscled vampire, who apparently had been recruiting vampires for strange purposes."What is the game?" approached him Angel, "Lorne said something, and I might be interested.""Oh, so. You want more from life? A lot of us have grown quite cynical that even if a big cheese offered us a golden prospect, we would almost certainly turn it down. I nearly made that error; by rejecting this chance as just a new one of those get rich quick things. I'm so happy I took the time to look into what was on offer. I decided to take this opening seriously and currently get pleasure from lifestyles many would…""Cut the crap. What products are we selling?""See, when you feed? There are all these corpses. Organs can be sold for good money at the right places. You just need to act fast, otherwise the organs deteriorate. Past sell by date, capisci? You in?""Where do I take the bodies?""Nowhere. You just contact your dealer and tell them where they are. You dealer. That's me.""But this is a pyramid scheme, right? Who's the head?""Master Ari-Pekka. But you don't need to worry about him. There are already at least five chain dealers between him and me. If disintegration is really on you, there is an address you can dump the bodies at. They'll deal. Just leave a note stating my identification trader number. You'll get your money directly from me."

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"Earn money eating, not bad," summarised it all up Cordelia."I say we check out the dumping address," stood up Gunn.

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"Dr. Makkinnen, lung specialist" read next to the doorbell.

"Hmmm. What a doctor this could be," ironised Gunn, "they give out licenses to kill?""No. He was a doctor before I sired him. But he specialised in surgery after having the opportunity of lotsa practise on corpses.""Which he still does," stated Gunn."Oh, but you dear Sire always gave me plenty of supplies," they heard a voice coming from behind the door, which ultimately opened too, "so, this is the great Angelus. You never chased to make me bonkers telling me about him such and such. And a Slayer! My Sire brings a Slayer to my doorstep! Wonder what that means? Did she make up with her old boyfriend?""You pretend to know too much for a Scandinavian icicle," stepped an annoyed Buffy in front.""Hhaha, lady Slayer, my door has a reverse invite spell and I'm sure I'm no gonna step outside. No creature with a soul can come in. See Darla, I did listen to some of your fairy tales of the superior price on a black horse. I was really in need for a healthy, strong Slayer heart for the president of Russia. Thank you my dear Sire. Thank you. Your heart will beat in my hands, miss Slayer, and that is a promise!" With that, he slammed the door shut.

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Until Wesley, Willow or Giles could find a reverse spell, there wasn't much any of them could do. They would patrol in teams and shifts. Maybe the prospect of some extra money would make vampires want to hunt more than usual."Does it feel to you as well, as if we were followed?" asked Buffy in front of the hotel. She turned and promptly found a vampire heart with her stake."Maybe there are more, I'll take a look," offered Angel, "all the rest of you to the books," he commanded."I don't know if it will make a difference," said Darla, "Ari knows lotsa spells. He spent a while with some witch doctors in Africa."

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Ari-Pekka did indeed know more powerful spells than Wesley at least. By two o'clock in the morning they were surrounded by vampires that kept coming in the front door, despite any protective spells or lack of invites. After the dozens and dozens they fought off, they kept coming. Money was speaking even better than any masterhood could. Finally, Ari-Pekka arrived with a note, which he left on the floor. An ultimatum, a choice, as he put it: "Give the Slayer out and you will live. Darla, you are always welcome to join me. No life partners please."They called Sunnydale, but could they hold on till reinforcements came? Even so, would one more vampire on their side make much of a difference?As they became more tired, the siege was getting tougher, the wall of vampires ticker and ticker. Angel and Buffy were trying to deal with as many at a time as possible, in a vain effort to shield the others.At one point, Angel found himself cornered by three vampires, two of them held him from the sides, the third aimed a stake at his heart. Angel's movements were only good enough to deviate the stake, which penetrated lower. The attacker, enraged, raised his sword and slashed at the still upheld Angel. It was only because the resistance of his ribcage that he wasn't halved in two.

Buffy, momentarily getting rid of her own attackers, rushed to his aid and staked two of the vampires from the back. Darla staked the third one. With common effort, they gathered Angel together and transported him behind the reception desk.

"He needs blood, now!" Darla yelled at Buffy, but the Slayer already jumped up and delivered angry blows to the other attackers. A feeling of panic weld up in Darla's throat. She had to get him some blood. Hers, if nothing else was available. The injuries were too severe even for a vampire. Angel drifted in and out of consciousness. His injuries kept bleeding substantial amounts of blood. His moans of pain left her scrambling behind the desk for knife. A few feet away she noticed a sword. It will do. She glanced at it while trying to stop Angel's wound from bleeding. She pressed both hands on it, but still could not manage to cover the whole surface of the cut. That wasn't going to help much. She rushed for the sword hoping Angel would make it through the next few minutes, "come on, Angel! Fight!" She wasn't going to let him die. Not now, not in the past, not ever. She sliced her forearm up horizontally, without even flinching. Her worries shaded her from the pain. She held her arm up, with her fingers downwards, just above Angel's mouth. It was the perfect way of making him drink without any conscious effort. If he would've been conscious, he probably wouldn't let her do this anyway. A scream distracted her from what she was doing, and she realized that her companions lay defeated, some chained already.The vampires were now closing in the reception area. As Darla felt her life slip away with the blood that was pouring into Angel's mouth, she was instinctively looking for her old food substance. She looked down on her fingers and slowly lifted her other hand, mesmerised. It was covered in Angel's blood, as she tried to stop him from bleeding. Her own fingers were the only things she could see as everything else started to blur. She just needed a lick to rise again. Ari-Pekka would make sure that she would. Darla knew him that much, he was her creation. And maybe than she could save Angel too. Angel. But what if vampire Darla would join the vampires in their mad scheme instead of saving Angel? Human Darla could not allow that. But vampire Darla would not let Angel die either. She could never do that. No matter what. And with that revelation came a flood of sensation, as her fingers finally touched her mouth . She heard Cordelia shouting "nooooo!" towards her, but it was too late. Curled up, she rocked back and forth. Blood. Tears. She turned to glance at her love, who gazed at her now before she collapsed into blackness.The End. 


End file.
